A primary school in UK has banned Valentine’s Day cards because of concerns that young pupils spend too much time talking about boyfriends and girlfriends.
Ashcombe Primary School in WestonSuperMare，Somerset，has told parents that cards declaring love can be“confusing” for children under the age of 11，who are still emotionally and socially developing. In this month’s newsletter(通讯)，Peter Turner，the head teacher，warned that any cards found in school would be confiscated(没收)．He wrote：“We do not wish to see any Valentine’s Day cards in school this year. Some children and parents encourage a lot of talk about boyfriends and girlfriends. We believe that such ideas should wait until children are mature enough emotionally and socially to understand the commitment involved in having or being a boyfriend or girlfriend.”Mr.Turner said any families wanting to support the Valentine’s Day idea should send cards in the post or deliver them to home addresses by hand.
His views were endorsed by Ruth Rice,46，who has twins Harriet and Olivia at the school. She said，“Children at that age shouldn’t really be thinking about Valentine’s Day，they should be concentrating on their schoolwork.”They are at an age when they are impressionable(易受影响的)and most parents including myself are with Mr.Turner. “She added that the cards cause” too much competition. If someone gets a card and another doesn’t，then someone will be disappointed.
However，Rajeev Takyar,40，who has two children Jai,11，and Aryan，five，at the school，said he was “outraged”．He said，“There are schools that have banned conkers(栗子游戏)and snowballs，and now Valentine’s Cards.”I think banning the cards stops children from having social skills. How are they going to learn about relationships otherwise？It’s ridiculous. Alec Suttenwood，father of three children，said of the ban：“It’s totally ridiculous. Young children just send the cards to each other as friends and to their parents. It’s just a bit of harmless fun. There is no difference between this and Mother’s or Father’s Day.”Which of the following is the best title?
| A．Ban on Valentine’s Day cards at school is well received. |
| B．Ban on Valentine’s Day cards at school causes argument. |
| C．British children spend too much time talking about love. |
| D．A British high school bans Valentine’s Day cards. |
The underlined word “endorsed” means________.
| A．criticized | B．quoted |
| C．disapproved | D．approved |
What do you know about Harriet and Olivia?
| A．They will send Valentine’s Day cards this year. |
| B．They are strongly against the school’s decision. |
| C．They are of the same age. |
| D．They are the children of Rajeev Takyar. |
According to Rajeev Takyar，________.
| A．sending Valentine’s Day cards helps develop children’s social skills |
| B．banning Valentine’s Day cards will benefit children |
| C．the cards cause too much competition among children |
| D．children are too young to talk about love |
The newsletter by Peter Turner probably appeared on________.
| A．February 22 | B．February 6 |
| C．March 18 | D．August 1 |
E
More than 20 Internet service providers in China have joined hands to crack_down_on junk mail that has long plagued（折磨, 使苦恼）e-mail users in China by establishing a coordinated （协调）group, the China Daily reported Tuesday．
The union, connecting such big fish as Sina and 263．net, has agreed to share information on technical solutions, promote public involvement and extend international cooperation, said the newspaper．
The group was collecting information from netizens（网民） on junk e-mail addresses and contents．
"We will then examine the information, leading to the formation of a blacklist that can help block spam （垃圾邮件）sources," Jiang said．
He added that software solutions will also be developed to make it easy for net users to block and delete spam themselves．
But some Internet experts voiced warning, saying junk mail problems will continue to appear in the years ahead, according to the newspaper．
"There are still loopholes（漏洞） in legal, managerial and technological terms which have not yet been patched up," said Qing Sihan, an information security technology specialist from the Chinese Academy of Sciences．
China has had surprising growth in Internet users with their number reaching 45．8 million by this June, ranking the second largest cyber community in the world after the United States, according to the paper．
But netizens are increasingly attacked with junk e-mails．
On average, a Chinese net user is troubled by 350 junk e-mails each year．One out of every two e-mails they receive is spam, according to China Internet Network Information Center．
73．The underlined phrase “crack down on”（in Paragraph 1）probably means “__________．”
A．make full use of B．take severe measures against
C．get rid of D．make a careful study of
74．The group was collecting information from netizens on junk e-mail addresses and contents to __________．
A．ask for international cooperaton B．put the trouble-makers in prison
C．prevent the spread of junk e-mail D．warn people of the danger of using Internet
75．From the passage we know that__________．
A．Sina and 263．net keep many big fish
B．Sina and 263．net are big Internet service providers
C．China owns the largest Internet user in the world
D．very few e-mails that people receive are spam
D
Life has changed in Mexico City．Streets normally filled with people are empty．One of the most popular professional soccer teams recently played a game in an empty stadium that can seat more than100,000 people．It's swine （猪）flu that has made life in Mexico City grind to a halt （慢慢停了下来）．
Seemingly out of nowhere, swine flu has caused confirmed deaths in 12 countries as of April 30．It has sent a wave of alarm around the world．Governments are trying to find ways to prevent further out-breaks．The World Health Organization has raised its swine flu global threat level to five out of six．
People may be familiar with bird flu, but they know little about swine flu．Swine flu is a contagious（传染性） respiratory（呼吸的）disease in pigs．It is caused by a type-A influenza virus．
Humans can also catch swine flu．The virus causes regular outbreaks in pigs, but people usually do not catch it．However, there have been cases of the virus spreading to people, and then from one person to another．
The symptoms of swine flu are similar to the common flu．They include fever, lethargy （无精打采）, lack of appetite, coughing, runny nose, sore throat, nausea（恶心）, and vomiting （呕吐）．The high proportion of young adults among the deaths is one of several mysteries about this virus．Most of the dead had lung damage．What caused it is not yet known．
The virus spreads the same way the common flu does．When an infected person coughs or sneezes around another person, the latter is put at risk．People can get the disease by touching something with the flu virus on it and then touching their mouth, nose or eyes．
There are medicines to treat swine flu．Doctors suggest using anti - viral drugs．They keep the virus from reproducing inside the body．
And there are vaccines for it now, several everyday steps can also help prevent the spread of the virus: washing hands frequently; avoiding close contact with people who are sick; and avoiding touching surfaces that might have the virus on it．
People may worry that they will get swine flu from eating or preparing pork．In fact, you cannot catch the virus from pork products if they have been properly prepared and cooked．Cooking food at temperatures of 71℃ kills the virus．
69．What is the main idea of the passage?
A．It mainly tells us how swine flu broke out in Mexico City．
B．It presents the reader with some information concerning swine flu．
C．It tells us the differences between swine flu and bird flu．
D．It mainly tells readers the dangers caused by swine flu．
70．The following tips can protect us from swine flu EXCEPT _________．
A．keeping us away from other people
B．washing hands frequently
C．avoiding close contact with sick people
D．avoiding touching surfaces that might have the virus on them
71．What's the main idea of the first paragraph?
A．Mexico City is really a place of horror now．
B．People in Mexico City like staying at home．
C．People in Mexico City don't like soccer．
D．Swine flu has seriously affected people's life in Mexico City．
72．What can we infer from the passage?
A．At present there still aren't effective vaccines for swine flu．
B．Swine flu is preventable，controllable and curable．
C．From now on, people can't eat pork if they want to be safe．
D．All of the dead killed by swine flu had lung damage．
B
From E-mail to online shopping, you may think you’ve heard everything there to know about the electronic frontier （新领域）．But with hundreds of thousands of Web pages being added weekly, there are plenty of surprises out there．Here are some of the most intriguing （有迷惑力的）．
……
Put your kid on a greeting card．Here is how: simply take some pictures with a regular camera, and then ask the photo service to develop them digitally （数字化）．For a small fee, you’ll receive your photos on a desk．Put that into your computer and, with a few clicks of the mouse, you can view your photos on the screen．With a few more keystrokes, you can attach the photos to email and send them to friends and relatives worldwide．
Sign on to one or several greeting card’s Websites （http://www．cardcentral．net/ is an index of more than 1200 electronic card sites） and create an electronic birthday or holiday card．Using your digital photos, you can paste your grandchildren onto the cover．
If you don’t want to use your own photos, go to cards．amzon．com to browse （浏览） hundreds of images in over 30 categories…all of which you can attach to an electronic greeting card for free．For a nominal fee（很低的费用）you can choose from a library of 75,000 images at http://www．phontodisc．com/．
Call Australia for free．To have a telephone conversation over the Internet, the person you want to talk to no longer needs a computer．Now all you need to talk to someone in Sydney is one computer with speakers, a microphone, a sound card and some software （available at http://www．vocaltec．com/ or Mricrosoft．com）．Typically, you’ll pay a monthly fee （usually under $20） to a service provider, but after that, the calls themselves are local．Sound quality is the same as that of a cell phone．
Even if you don’t have a computer, you can still use the Web to reduce your long distance phone costs．Some companies offer a service that lets you use an ordinary phone to call another ordinary phone, but charge only a few cents per minute for US calls, because they send them through the Internet．
Today 48 percent of American homes have computers…a figure that is expected to climb to 60 percent by 2003．And by the end of the next decade, Americans will likely be spending more time shopping, banking, investing and learning on the Internet than in the real world．If you can’t do or find something on the Net today, you probably can tomorrow．
60．Over the Internet, you ________．
A．can hear everything there
B．will meet with plenty of surprises which come out every week．
C．will hear the things about the electronic frontier
D．can find some things are very interesting
61．From the passage we can infer that _________．
A．fewer people will use the Internet in the following ten years
B．more people will study in the regular school by the end of the next decade
C．fewer people will go to the regular school in the following ten years
D．more money will be needed for a long-distance call by the end of the next decade
62．If you want to attach to photo to your e-mail, you have to ________ it．
A．digitalize B．take C．picture D．send
63．Which of the following is NOT true?
A．A telephone conversation over the Internet can be carried out without computers．
B．Over the Internet, the receiver of the phone conversation doesn’t need a computer．
C．The phone conversations over the Internet are much cheaper．
D．The long-distance calls are local themselves．
B
You have heard of Webster Toys. Websters have made good safe and interesting toys for more than a hundred years. Now we sell them, and children play with them, in countries from New Zealand to Norway(挪威), and from Japan to Brazil
(巴西). We are looking for someone to sell our toys in the Far East. He(She) will be between the age
s of thirty and forty. He will already have some years of selling in world markets behind him. He will speak good English and at least one other language of the Far East.
The person we are looking for will live in Singapore, and work in our office there but he will travel for up to six months in other countries in one year. He will know the Far East well. He should know how to sell in established(建立) markets and where to find new ones. He will know to make more money than ever, for himself and for Webster Toys.
Websters want someone who can stand on his own feet. If you think you are the person we are looking for, write to Mr.J.Sloman at our office. Webster Toys Company Church Mill Watford.
51. What are Webster Toys?
A. An old kind of toys.
B. Factories where good, safe and interesting toys are made.
C. People who are famous for making toys for children.
D. A company that has been making and selling toys.
52.We can most probably read the text _______.
A. I a book B. in a dictionary C. in a novel D. in a newspaper
53 . Which of the following statements is TRUE?
A. If you are thirty years old, you can apply for the position.
B. If you live in Singaore, you can get the position.
C. If you speak good English , you can get the position.
D. The company is looking for some salesmen or saleswomen.
第三部分阅读理解（共20小题；每小题2分，满分40分）
阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。
A
Short and shy, Ben saunders was the last kid in his class picked for any sports team. “Football, tennis, cricket---anything with a round ball, I was useless,” he says now with a laugh. But back then he was the object of jokes in school gym classes in England’s rural Devonshire.
It was a mount
ain bike he received for his 15th birthday that changed him. At first the teen went biking alone in a nearby forest. Then he began to cycle along with a runner friend. Gradually, Saunders set his mind on building up his body, increasing his speed, strength and endurance. At age 18, he ran his first marathon.
The following year, he met John Ridgway, who became famous in the 1960s for rowing an open boat across the Atlantic Ocean. Saunders was hired as an instructor at Ridgway’s School of Adventure in Scotland, where he learned about the older man’s cold-water exploits(成就). Intrigued, Saunders read all he could about Arctic explorers and North Pole expeditions, then decided that this would be his future.
Journeys to the Pole aren’t the usual holidays for British country boys, and many people dismissed his dream as fantasy. John Ridway was one of the few who didn’t say, “You’re completely crazy,” Saunders says.
In 2001, after becoming a skilled skier, Saunders started his first long-distance expedition toward the North Pole. He suffered frostbite, had a close encounter(遭遇) with a polar bear and pushed his body to the limit.
Saunders has since become the youngest person to ski alone to the North Pole, and he’s skied more of the Arctic by himself than any other Briton. His old playmates would not believe the transformation.
This October, Saunders, 27, heads south to explore from the coast of Antarctica to the Sou
th Pole and back, an 1800-mile journey that has never been completed on skis.
46. The turning point in Saunders’ life came when________.
A. he started to play ball games
B. he got a mountain bike at age 15
C. he ran his first marathon at age 18
D. he started to receive Ridgway’s training
47. We can learn from the text that Ridgway_________.
A. dismissed Saunders’ dream as fantasy
B. built up his body together with Saunders
C. hired Saunders for his cold-water experience
D. won his fame for his voyage across the Atlantic
48. What do we know about Saunders?
A. He once worked at a school in Scotland.
B. He followed Ridgway to explore the North Pole.
C. He was chosen for the school sports team as a kid.
D. He was the first Briton to ski alone to the North Pole.
49. The underlined word “Intrigued” in the third paragraph probably means______.
A. excited B. convinced C. delighted D. fascinated
50. It can be inferred that Saunders’ journey to the North Pole _______.
A. was accompanied by his old playmates
B. set a record in the North Pole expedition
C. was supported by other Antarctic explorers
D. made him well-known in the 1960s
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